Dubai: The top official of Victory Team has admitted that a top-three finish would be considered a strong start in F1 racing for the Dubai-based outfit when the 2017 UIM F1H2O World Championships conclude in Sharjah in mid-December.
After more than two decades in Class One powerboat racing, Victory Team made their entry into the F1 fold while fielding UAE driver Ahmed Al Hameli and American Shaun Torrente for their first full season in the discipline. While Al Hameli is within striking distance of the leading pack of drivers, Torrente has had a season to forget as he tries to keep pace with the top pack of drivers, in seventh place.
Team Abu Dhabi is currently in the lead in the teams championships with 83 points with Italian Alex Carella coming up with an exciting finish in the fourth round at the Liuzhou Grand Prix on October 1. Team Sweden is in second with 54 points, while Victory Team is in third with 49, followed by defending champions CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team (42) and Sami Selio’s Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team (35).
“The whole idea would be to make an impressive start in F1 racing, and keeping this in mind, I think that a top-3 would be a great start for us,” Huraiz Al Mur Mohammad Bin Huraiz, Chairman, Board of Directors, Victory Team, told Gulf News at the team’s headquarters in Jebel Ali.
With Class One racing taking a backseat, Victory Team has its presence in powerboating through the F1, XCATs and F4 championships this season. “At the end of the day I don’t believe we were totally prepared a 100 per cent to make our F1 debut this season, but yet we took the chance and look where we are today. We are still aiming to be top-3 in the four categories [pole position, fastest lap, drivers’ and teams’ competitions],” Huraiz said.
“We are still out there. Perhaps, winning the overall drivers’ and teams’ championships may be a bit difficult, but getting top-3 in all four competitions is very much realistic.”
